-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- There was no feeling in Matthias Lanzinger 's leg when he regained consciousness in hospital after his skiing accident .

As he blinked and opened his eyes , his first question to his wife , who was sitting at his bedside , was whether he would have to spend his life in a wheelchair .

`` She said ` no you do n't , ' '' Lanzinger told CNN . '' ` Everything is OK , you can get on with your life but they had to amputate your leg . Our life is going to go on . ''

He has absolutely no memory of the day five years ago when his life changed forever .

On Sunday March 2 , 2008 he was competing in a World Cup Super-G race -- in Kvitfjell , Norway -- and crashed into a gate , falling down the mountainside , breaking his leg in the process .

`` I just do n't remember anything from the accident , it 's nothing . I know until the gate and crashing , then nothing . I think it 's good for me that way right now . ''

Lanzinger was once the rising star of Austrian alpine skiing . A junior world champion , he had won the Europa Cup and picked up a podium finish in a World Cup Super-G in 2005 .

But his horrific accident brutally halted his career 's rising trajectory .

The resulting damage to his blood circulation in his leg meant the doctors had to amputate below the left knee -- had they not done so , he could have died .

`` I know that maybe things could have been done differently , '' Lanzinger says wistfully .

`` But what is the point of thinking about it ? The fact is I ca n't change my amputation . When I think about it or I 'm angry about it , it does n't matter as the reality is that would not change a thing . So what 's the point ?

`` The fact is I have an amputation and I look forward not back . I like to live life in a positive way . ''

Most immediately , he is looking forward to the 2014 Winter Olympics , his skiing career continuing but merely realigned after his life changing accident .

Where once he had aspired to compete in both Vancouver and Sochi alongside able bodied athletes , he will instead take part at the Paralympics in the Russian city , and he has modest ambitions .

Despite winning gold , silver and bronze at this season 's World Championships , he has one , simple target .

`` When I get to Sochi , a medal is the goal , '' he says , `` and obviously gold would be nice . But more important than that is the way to Sochi .

`` The years have been very tough , so this journey is still the most important .

`` For me , the pleasure will just be to start in Sochi . If I could then get a medal -- even maybe a gold -- that would be the dream coming true . That is the reason why I did my comeback . ''

Lure of the slopes

After the amputation , Lanzinger had opted not to return to the slopes and test his skiing prowess once more .

With a new job with the ski manufacturer Salomon , he felt his life had moved on but gradually his view shifted , and the lure of the slopes returned .

`` I never wanted to come back to the sport , '' he admits . `` I wanted to do my new life . I studied in business administration and then onto my work as marketing manager for Salomon .

`` Everything was fine in my new life , with many other things other than skiing .

`` But then I started to think how I would feel in 30 or 40 years if I did not try it competitively again . So I wanted to answer that question . ''

For his first competitive run , he admitted he was awash with nerves , unsure how well he had adapted in training to skiing on a prosthetic leg and of the different technique required to tackle the gates on the course .

`` After that first run , the feeling was back , '' he says .

`` It was the feeling of my last race , like it was a few months ago and not three years ago . Since then , I like racing , maybe even more than before the accident because now I do it for fun , the pressure is gone . This is enjoyment . ''

Lanzinger has not watched his accident back , although he is slowly coming round to the idea that one day he will .

`` Maybe in the future I 'll watch to find out what happened , '' he says . `` But right now , I do n't see any benefits at all .

His training for Sochi is currently in full swing and , for now , his stump is in good order , although he has had problems in the past .

Severe inflammation in previous seasons meant he had to undergo further surgery -- `` the pressure on the stump when skiing is so much '' -- but he is now on top of the problem , getting the right balance of neither too much nor too little exercise on it .

Guiding him to Sochi is his coach Manuel Hujara , who has worked with Lanzinger since his decision to return to competitive skiing .

Hujara says he has not had to work on his pupil 's mental demons returning to a sport that cost him a leg .

`` To be able to come to the team , you have to be able to have worked through that first , '' says Hujara . `` Matthias has done that . If not , you ca n't do the sport at the highest level . ''

He has a chance to medal in every discipline . He 's a special guy , with coming back from that bad World Cup accident . ''

Both Hujara and Lanzinger are pushing to improve the backing and profile for disabled skiing in Austria .

Hujara describes it as `` really bad '' while Lanzinger says `` things are getting better '' but that it is a painfully slow process .

Should Lanzinger , named Austria 's disabled athlete of the year in 2012 , win gold in Sochi , that will only help the cause . As for what is in store for him after his Russian adventure , he genuinely has no idea .

`` I 've not thought about it , '' he says of life after Sochi . `` Let 's see what I do there first . ''

A gold around his neck would surely be the perfect outcome to an often long and tortuous journey .

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Matthias Lanzinger underwent leg amputation after crashing heavily on the World Cup circuit

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Austrian skier gave up hope of skiing again but is now targeting medals at the Sochi Paralympics

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A three-time medallist at this year 's World Championships , Lanzinger is a strong contender

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To this day , he still can not watch back the accident - `` I do n't see any benefits at all ''